(Above) "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few"
Crowds gathered at London’s Churchill War Rooms this afternoon (August 20 2010) to hear a replay of Winston Churchill’s famous “the few” speech on the 70th anniversary of its original airing.
Given at 3.52pm – the exact time the Second World War Prime Minister gave his stirring salute to Britain’s air force in Parliament – the recording was followed by a Spitfire and Hurricane fly-past over Whitehall.
Crowds gathered at the War Rooms
Cloudgazers didn’t have to be in London to witness the powerful commemoration. The P7350 Spitfire, which is the only fighter of its kind to have fought in the Battle and still be capable of taking to the sky, joined the Hurricane LF363 in passing over Rochester, Gravesend and swathes of Kent.
It got a bird’s eye view of Croydon before a brief stop at Biggin Hill, returning to the air to circumnavigate Hendon, High Wycome, Southampton and Portsmouth. It finally touched down at Northolt at around 5.20pm.
Veterans heard the speech at the exact time it was made 70 years ago
“This is such an important anniversary today, and to see an original Battle of Britain Spitfire in the air will be wonderful,” said one respondent to ianvisits.co.uk, where visitors could print out a map of the route.
“My father was a pilot long after the war and I’m only young and I know many people my age didn’t take in their history lessons, but I’m sure our lives would not be the same today if this fight had been lost. We owe these men and those planes our liberty and cultural identity.”
The fly-past provided a fitting tribute
At Bournemouth Air Festival, the Avro Lancaster of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight proved a poignant coup for organisers, and replica bombers from the campaign also soared over the Weymouth Carnival.
Their appearance marked the RAF’s heroic victory against larger Luftwaffe forces over the skies of southern England between July and the end of October 1940, involving 71 Fighter Command squadrons and allies from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada and across Europe.
Listen to Churchill’s “the few” speech online.
Keep up to speed with the latest news about the Battle of Britain 70th anniversary at www.culture24.org.uk/battle-of-britain.
